The Dark
by Malluchan
Summary: Tsubasa's account of conquering the dark corners of his mind
1. What Follows Me

Okay. I know I've been gone for awhile now, but it is a Saturday and I have nothing to do and I just watched Team Wild Fang vs. Team Chandorra...en francais...so now I present you with this little bunny. Just a few thoughts from the teams in the WC.

Oh, I also need to tell you guys that I found some really cool words online and I'll be trying to use them in the stories. I'll try to put the definitions in the bottom.

Please enjoy!

* * *

~Tsubasa POV~

Kyouya is down on the stadium floor battling the representative from team Chandorra. It doesn't seem like the Indian representatives are going to make it very far in these championships. They talked big at the press conference, but it seems like everyone who went against Team Wild Fang bit off more than they could chew.

Kyouya turns to the stands and points to Gingka, calling out a challenge. It's hard to believe it. Even though he's caught in the middle of a battle, the only thing on his mind is defeating Gingka. Their rivalry has stood for a long time and probably won't end anytime soon.

It reminds me how he walked away from a chance at team Gan Gan Galaxy because rather than team up with Gingka, he prefers to crush him; if it hadn't been for his arrogance, I wouldn't be here now. I guess I got lucky. Did I earn that chance, or did I just end up with it?

As he turns away from the stands and back to the leader of Chandorra, who is enraged at his lack of attention to the battle, he seems quiet. He is dark that way. It leaks into his battle style. When he goes against an opponent, it is all raw power; he wastes no time. In this battle, he used a special move right off, astonishing Chandorra. The rest of us weren't surprised.

I think that, secretly, Gingka fears him. Kyouya holds an air about him that is infused with quiet darkness and rage, waiting to be unleashed. But Gingka will never admit it. This is the true extent of bravery: being afraid but not showing it.

Sometimes I wonder if I am as brave as he is. The strength that came to me in my own battle with Kyouya, prompting me to go toe-to-toe with his overwhelming power...was it bravery, or something darker?

Now the Indian representative falls back, astounded as his beyblade lodges in the stadium wall behind him. He is angry. He doesn't realise that it is his own pride that made him fall. He spoke proud words at the press conference, and the higher they hold themselves, the harder they crash to the ground when they lose.

Maybe Kyouya will learn this someday. He certainly seems to have a lot of pride.

Gingka is standing still at the barrier of the stadium. Kyouya flashes him a triumphant glance as he exits the stadium; Benkei is yelling in victory and choking poor DeMorae. Kyouya does well to travel with such an enthusiastic partner. Benkei's bubbly character certainly offsets his silence.

After a battle, the sillage of smoke and sweat lingers in the air. We follow a quiet Gingka down the steps to the stadium exit, but as the others walk through the tunnel to the outside, I watch him.

Gingka stands looking across at Team Wild Fang, watching as Kyouya shoves Benkei off of himself and DeMorae retreats to the tunnel opposite. Gingka has a deep, battle-hardened look in his eyes; he has graduated from the airling who never stops talking to a wizened and strategic opponent.

At last he turns, and gives me a smile. The look I saw in his eyes earlier is replaced with enthusiasm, and the moment is gone. We walk together down the tunnel. Though he is smaller than me, he matches my stride. I sneak glances at him out of the corners of my eyes. How is he so young, and yet so strong? And why am I doubting myself after years of steadfast undercover work? What is this sudden atelophobia coming over me?

I will figure it out. I have to. I have come over harder things before; I can do it again.

* * *

Sillage: Lingering trace of something - the lingering scent of perfume, the trails left by an aeroplane in the sky

Airling - a young, thoughtless person

Atelophobia - the fear of not being good enough


	2. Three Little Birds

Scintillating: Twinkling

Alexithymia: inability to express feelings verbally

Petrichor: the sound of rain on dry ground

Hyaloid: glassy or transparent in appearance

* * *

~Tsubasa POV~

The tunnel echoes. It always echoes when you walk down it. There's a light at the end, scintillating with the movement of many people walking past. It always feels like I'm stepping into another world when I reach the end, like I've gone through a gateway: The sunny outside, then the grey of the tunnel, and then the roar and overlit quality of the battlefield.

Outside, Gingka joins the others at the edge of the grass, a quiet spot sheltered by trees just by the walkway. India is very hot at this time of day. Gingka seats himself at the edge of their picnic blanket and starts to eat.

He sees me standing stationary and invites me to sit down, but I do not feel like eating. I shake my head. He asks me if anything is wrong.

"I..." suddenly I am overcome with alexithymia. I am confused. I do not like to eat when I am confused. I tell them that the smoke from the battle has irritated my lungs and that I am going on a walk to clear my head.

My footsteps sound on the packed stone of the Indian streets like petrichor, and my mind is spinning. I don't know what got me so worked up about that particular battle.

Eagle swoops down from above me and lands on my shoulder. The smell of dead animal is on his breath. He has eaten his lunch already.

The streets are packed this noonday, and I am able to disappear in the crowd. I hope that my team is not too worried about me. I have no wish for unwanted questions.

Questions that have no answers.

I am far from the stadium now, surrounded by apartment buildings. High above me laundry waves in the wind, hung from ropes that span the alleyways. Through the crowd I spot a flash of red, the blink of a slanted eye, and I see Nile weaving away from a vendor's booth, holding a paper bag. I scan the crowd: he is alone. This mysterious African blader. On an impulse, I follow him; I have nowhere else to go.

He unwittingly leads me on a whiplashing course through the crowds of India, backtracking several times, until finally we have reached a part of the city that is much quieter. The crowds here are more spread out, and they are all heading the way we have come, for all the vendor's booths are there.

Nile climbs up the fire escapes until he reaches the top of a building, and I follow silently. Eagle, my good bird, does not make a sound. I hide behind the cooling unit on the roof, and Nile sits on the edge of the building, legs dangling over.

I watch him take out his lunch, and then he speaks.

"I know you've been following me. You may as well come out now."

Chastised, I step out from behind the cooling unit. Now that he's caught me, my game is over; I will leave.

But as I step down from the edge of the roof, he says, "There's enough room for both of us."

I return and sit beside him. He is the falcon blader, then. Quiet, like me.

Up here there is nothing to block our view of the sky, puffy white clouds and hyaloid serenity. I suddenly feel very small. The wind is low but it provides a good coolness, cutting through the heat of noon. Nile, Eagle, and I. Three little birds.

Silently he tears the side of his paper bag so that it spreads out flat between us. I smell yoghurt sauce and hot bread, and I feel my stomach churning with hunger. This empty sky has whisked away my uncertainty.

He smiles in amusement and gestures to me. There is too much for him to eat by himself, he says. So we share his lunch. Eagle dozes on my shoulder. He must have flown a long way today.

We finish the food, and speak of battles past. Nile tells me of how he and Kyouya fought for the World Championship ticket bracelets. I think it is a strange way of choosing team members, but perhaps beyblade is different where he comes from. I tell him of the rivalry I have witnessed between Kyouya and Gingka. I do not tell him of the uneasiness I feel about the power within me spinning out of control. It is good to be quiet for awhile and not speak of such things.

Our conversation is interrupted by my cell phone ringing. It is Madoka. She wants to know where I am. I do not want to go back, but it is late, and those unwanted questions are certainly brewing.

Wordlessly Nile gathers up the empty paper bag, grease stains gone cold, and follows me down the fire escape. We part ways several streets down; DeMorae has come to get him, and Eagle leads me through the unfamiliar streets to our hotel. Nile and I do not speak another word to each other. Anyone else would find it strange and hurtful; I find comfort in silence.

Now that my head is clear I can feel how exhausted I am. I am drained of all energy but perhaps for the first time since battling Kyouya in Japan, a hundred years ago, I am at peace.


	3. Restless Abatures

I watch French Beyblade, et qu'est-ce que c'est? I get all inspired up, that's what - ! C'est genie! It seems that the French version contains a lot more emotion for me than the English.

In other words, here's today's chapter. By the way, if you're reading this, please review~! It only takes a minute and it's SO encouraging.

Here is the word list:

Abatjour: Skylight or device to direct light into a room

Abature: Trail beaten through the woods by a stag

Palabra: Words; talk

Sanable: Able to heal

* * *

~Madoka's POV~

Tsubasa is so quiet.

He has always been quiet, but more so than usual now. His heart is breaking, and I don't know why. It's like something inside him is drawn up and he doesn't speak unless spoken to.

At night I wake up in the hotel because I can't sleep in strange places, and sometimes I look out the window. A few balconies down he is always just standing there, so quietly. Perhaps all night; I do not know.

Sometimes he has his fingers up, tracing the lines of the constellation Aquila in the night sky.

His bird is always on the lookout. It seems that Eagle is also agitated. I read somewhere that birds pluck out their own feathers when they are nervous, and I have been finding feathers all through my luggage. He sits above the abatjour in the lobby and looks down from the roof of the hotel, watching, always watching, like he is trying to protect Tsubasa. He feels that something is wrong. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Today Tsubasa sits in the dining room at the hotel with us; this is our last day in India. He does not eat, and he does not speak. It's like something keeps coursing through the abatures of his mind and he can't seem to let go. He tells us he isn't hungry; he tells us he'll eat later.

He won't.

I try to bring him food in the afternoons, to keep up his strength, but I come back an hour later to find it cold on the wrapper and him long gone. Sometimes he feeds it to Eagle, but he knows I am watching.

Gingka is speaking to Masamune about the upcoming battle in Japan. I know he is also troubled. His and Masamune's meaningless palabra floats around the dining room like a flock of brainless birds.

I need to find out what's wrong with Tsubasa. If he cannot function, his beyblade cannot function, and where will our team be then?

When I turn towards Tsubasa, his appearance once again alarms me. Since the heated battle with Kyouya, he has lost weight, and there are faint circles under his eyes. His hair, normally so well-kept, has lost its lustre. Something about all of this scares me. I cannot place it, but I am unnerved.

"Something is bothering you." It is not a question; it is an observation. He knows this. He cannot dodge it now.

He only nods.

"What's on your mind?"

He shakes his head. He will not tell me.

"You're not sleeping. You're not eating. You need help."

"I don't need help." His voice comes out husky. He hasn't been speaking, either. "I'm fine. All of this travel is wearing me down, that's all."

"You used to work for the WBBA! You travelled all the time then. It shouldn't bother you."

"I guess I am a little rusty. It happens to the best of us." He holds my gaze, daring me to challenge him. Even in this state he is so stubborn.

"You should rest."

"I'm jet-lagged. I won't be able to sleep until later this evening, probably. We'll be home soon. Everything will be better then."

He is trying to convince himself more than he is trying to convince me.

He stands and walks away from me. I hate it when he does this; he doesn't understand that running solves nothing. I sit back, letting my mind float. What was it that I saw that day, in his battle with Kyouya, when he first began to seem troubled? Was it something out of place - Eagle? Was his bird reacting already? Or was his beyblade moving strangely?

There was something. Now that I have thought about it, I am sure of it. Something in his eyes was...askew. Crazed.

I try to tell myself that it is sanable, that everything can heal with time. He needs time. He needs us around him to help him with whatever it was that appeared in his battle with Kyouya, more so in his battle with Chi Yun. He will overcome these restless abatures. He will find a way.


	4. Stations of the Soul

Jasperated: Mottled; streaked with various colours

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

I tell myself that it will be better when I get back home, when I'm in a familiar atmosphere and able to think clearly. But as I step down the ramp of the plane, I feel nothing. My thoughts are more jasperated than ever.

Ryo has told us we will have two days to rest before the battle with Team Wild Fang. All of us can feel the tension in Gingka's character as he anticipates his battle with Kyouya; at least I am assuming he will be the one to go against him. Who else would it be?

Masamune expressed a wish to be the one who would battle the team leader; nobody supported him. You don't get in the middle of a running rivalry. It goes against the unspoken code of honour in the beyblade world.

* * *

I feel that this is the darkest recess of my mind, the place where all evil hides. It's something I've pushed away since I was conscious of the difference between right and wrong, around 8 or 9 years old. So long ago.

Sometimes my dark side speaks to me.

It was long before the battle with Kyouya; you know the voice well. It's in a constant battle with your conscience, yelling at you to take the wrong path instead of the right. Sometimes it wins.

I am able to do this sometimes, to withdraw into my own mind and find the source of my problems. Many times they lie beneath the surface and it take a bit of digging around to get to them.

I don't feel comfortable here, though. I wish I could draw the voice into the nether, the foggy portal between the stations of my soul; then I would not have to venture into the badlands. But I know it will not show itself.

The voice doesn't really have a body. It's a part of me. So when I see it in my mind, it takes the form of a crazed version of myself, red-eyed and wild-haired. Its voice is conniving and sly. It is nothing like me at all, and yet sometimes I feel like it's the only me that really exists.

I hate it.

I feel possessed when it takes over.

I can smell fear here, but it's not the voice that is afraid; it's me. I get scared walking through my own mind. I've faced many opponents, brave, powerful, and intimidating, but when it comes to facing myself I often fail.

Then I can hear it. The voice. I've come far enough to be at the place where it resides; the gateway back to the nether is a speck of light in the distance. If I go too far, I will not be able to see it. Then I may be lost here forever.

I stop. I will not go that far.

"Why are you here?" it asks. I can feel it swimming around the nape of my neck and spreading a horrifying chill down my spine.

"I came to ask you the same thing", I tell it. "I never gave you permission to make decisions."

"I don't need your permission. I am a part of you. I operate unconsciously, like breathing and heartbeats."

"No. That's not true." I know that's not true. I have a choice.

Don't I?

"You shouldn't have come here if you didn't intend to stay", it tells me. "This is my place. You don't let me in the rest of your mind, so why must you intrude on the one place that I do have?"

Why does it have to have a place at all? Must it exist? "Can't you find another place to be?"

"I can't leave your mind. I am your mind", it tells me. "Without me you would be a vegetable in a hospital somewhere. It's what happens when they try to take part of somebody away. A relative. A lover. A soul."

"I wish I could get rid of you", I tell it honestly.

"I wish I could get rid of _you_", it says, "But unfortunately, you own the body. So I have to cope."

I can feel my limbs getting heavier the longer I stay here. I am afraid that if I stay here too long, the voice will turn me into a part of its dark and twisted world. I turn towards the spot in the distance that signifies safety.

I can feel it following me. It makes no sound, but it is an achingly cold presence at the base of my skull. I turn back towards it, but of course I cannot see it. "Stop that. You know you're not allowed to come back with me. You have to stay here."

"Because of course, if I went back with you, I would topple your perfect little world", it says sarcastically. "I don't know why you can't see that your perfect little world isn't so perfect after all. You're bound by a set of impairing rules. You're crushed by the weight of all your responsibilities. You could just let go of all that, but NO, you banished your only chance at freedom to this lovely little prison."

Is this how psychos feel?

I know it is stalling. It knows that the longer I stay here, the weaker I become. I hightail it back to the gateway and leave it bobbing at the partition, a slight distortion in the blackness beyond the boundary. I am relieved to be surrounded once more by the million gateways, in the grand central station of my consciousness. I shut my eyes and let my mind go back to my physical body.

This ordeal has not helped me; it has scarred me and terrified me. I knew it was the voice already, and I accomplished nothing by confronting it.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy. Everyone knows about the stations of the mind - the amygdala, provoking feelings; the part that knows numbers; the part that dreams.

The place where all dark things go to hide.

But can I really see these things, or am I just imagining it, distorting reality to entertain my own twisted fantasies?

I cannot tell the difference between light and dark anymore, or truth and lies. Reality and my own mind.

I am afraid.


	5. Faceless Enemy

I realised that I called Vulcan Horuseus 'Falcon Horuseus' instead in chapter 2 ;A; Sorry!

The song Dear Agony belongs to the band Breaking Benjamin.

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

After the first time, my vision was shot through with slight purple veins for about three days afterwards.

_Dear Agony,_

_Just let go of me_

After the second time, I couldn't go near mirrors or I would see the side of me that should not exist. Any reflective surface, and the voice takes over.

Children are afraid of me. Dogs bark at me and cats hiss when I go near.

What will happen the third time?

This wild and frightening side of me is tearing me apart.

_Suffer slowly_

I shut my eyes, but the darkness behind them smothers me like a heavy woollen blanket over my nose and mouth. So I keep them open.

The darkness in my room is more like a shadow, not like complete absence of light. The moon peeks through the glass doors of the balcony near my bed. I go to it, hoping maybe I'll find refuge in the sweet light.

I am losing sleep. Losing weight. Losing sight of what kept me anchored before this all happened.

The others have noticed something is up. I don't want to worry them but I can't take control.

_Is this the way it's got to be?_

I open the doors to the balcony and sit on the concrete panel that serves as a platform. When I lean against the bars of the railing, my shoulder fits through them. That never happened before.

What am I afraid of?

I am afraid that the darkness will take me, and I won't be able to find my way back. Afraid that somebody will notice something's wrong with me and I'll have to leave my friends and take refuge, away from them. I am afraid that they'll make me leave the team, make me leave the WBBA, take Earth Eagle away.

I'm afraid that I'll hurt someone.

That would be the ultimate offence in my eyes. Let them lock me up, send me away, take my beyblade; but if I hurt somebody, I'll never be able to live with myself.

_Don't bury me_

Through the bars of the railing, I can see the streets below. In many parts of this city, it never sleeps; this is not one of those parts. I can see the occasional car passing by in the distance, but my neighbourhood holds a quiet sleepiness at this hour. Most lights are turned off. I check my watch; it's 2:30 am. I haven't slept at all tonight.

Tomorrow - today - is the big battle between us and Wild Fang. I know if I don't sleep I'll never be able to do anything.

Then I realise - if I can't do anything, the voice can't do anything. If I can't battle, I won't have to battle. With Wild Fang or myself. I contemplate keeping myself awake all night. Not sleeping, telling them in the morning that I can't battle. Yuu can take my place.

But something drags me back into my apartment.

_Faceless enemy_

This is not how I live my life. It's not how I grew up and it's not how I'll start to be now. I have a dark side; so what? I will not let it change me. I will sleep tonight as much as I can, and I will wake in the morning to battle again.

My mother used to tell me, when I went through hard times - breaking an arm, losing a friend, losing a battle - things will always get better. Smetimes they'll get worse first, but they will always, always get better.

_I'm so sorry_

Tomorrow will wake with sunlight spun from sugar bouncing off my windowpanes, and I'll battle my hardest regardless of what's inside me. If I battle with a true heart, there will be no opportunity for my dark side to take control.

I was taught to never give up and I'm not going against that now.

My bed smells like the sweat I give off from my restless dreams, and the sheets are rumpled and tossed about. I settle on the couch with the TV blaring meaningless news. It will distract me enough for me to sleep.

_Is this the way it's got to be?_

I sleep with Eagle beside me, shedding feathers on the couch and blanket. He is like a teddy bear to me. He perches on the back of the couch with his hooked beak tucked into his feathers. He is worried about me, and I promise him I'll be all right.

I have to be.


	6. Clouds Across The Sun

Hey everyone! Before this chapter starts, I wanna ask you something. Will you still follow Woodwork when Act 1 is over? Act 2: Myth will follow the adventures of the great Ryuga during the World Championships.

And I also want you to know that I read every review and appreciate them greatly! :D

Finally, this episode takes place after the tag-team battle with Yuu/Tsubasa vs. Benkei/DeMorae.

Okay, guys, have fun! :D

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

I smell flames, like hot waves running up my nostrils and into my lungs. I hear a child crying out.

Laughter. My laughter.

But I'm not laughing.

Then I know, with frightening certainty - it is the voice. It came back.

I failed.

Blackness wants to take me into unconsciousness. I surrender to it. If I am gone, then the destruction is gone.

* * *

I wake to incessant beeping near my ear; it is a heart monitor. A white ceiling fills my blurry vision. For a moment I'm disorientated, swimming sightless in a blurry pool of nothingness. Then I remember. I shut my eyes against the memory, but it's in my head.

I failed - again. I failed myself, I failed my team. I failed Japan.

The voice took over, catching me in a moment of desperation. What did I do?

I can't even remember if I won or not. If I lost, Japan is out of the World Championships. Then it's my fault.

My mind reels for a moment. Did I hurt anybody? What happened to Yuu? He was right there next to me. I remember him crying out in fear. I press the heels of my hands to my eyes, and the plastic of an IV scrapes my cheek.

_If only you had let me take full control, you wouldn't be here._

I startle. Who is speaking to me? The room is empty. The heart monitor beeps faster with my racing adrenaline.

_See? - So cowardly, aren't you? I could have gotten you out of there without a single scratch, but **no**! - You passed out instead!_

All of a sudden I can't breathe. My worst nightmare is coming true.

The voice. It's escaped its confines. It's here, in my mind. I had kept it pent up until now, but it's gotten free.

_Just let me talk to you._

"No", I whisper. My voice is faint and hoarse. My throat is dry. The heart monitor plays almost a single steady stream, my heart is beating so fast...darkness calls to me again, and then I am gone.

* * *

~Nile's POV~

I feel conspicuous. I'm not used to being around so many people, and hospitals are a rare experience for me. Something sharp is in the air. It stings my lungs. This is why Egypt was much better.

The carpet in the waiting room is the ugly colour of rotting walnuts. It's too hot in here. Suddenly I can't wait anymore. I need to get in and out of here as quickly as possible; I can't believe I'm even doing this. I owe Tsubasa nothing, and yet...

I know what it's like to be on my own. Maybe that's why I'm here.

I follow an orderly discreetly through the heavy doors nearby, presuming this is where the patients are. I hate big spaces. I hate being lost. I hope I fins Tsubasa quickly so I can leave.

I peek through the glass partitions in each door of the rooms I pass. For a moment I am startled by a patient moving inside a room, and then I turn and find the orderly staring at me confusedly.

"I don't think you're supposed to be back here", he says uncertainly.

"I'm here to see a friend", I tell him. "Tsubasa Otori. He got knocked out in a battle today."

"Oh, yeah. I know who you're talking about. Do you have permission to be back here, though?"

I glance at an imaginary watch. "Uh...what time is it? - Listen, I've really gotta be somewhere. Just let me see him for a minute. You can watch from right outside the door. I just need to give him something before I leave."

He looks uncertain, and for a second I'm afraid he'll make me leave and I'll have wasted my time. But then he leads me to a door a couple of feet away. "Just be quick about it."

I thank him and then step through the door.

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

Voices wake me. I don't remember going to sleep. I must have had a panic attack and passed out.

"...for a minute. You can watch..."

The voices float in and out of focus, like the sun behind fast-moving clouds. I force my eyes open as the door unlocks, and a moment later someone steps in. It takes me a while to figure out who it is, and then there is the question of why.

Why would Nile come to see me at the hospital? He steps closer to the bed and for a second I am apprehensive. Why is he here? But it is the voice influencing me again, making me paranoid for its own sake. It is afraid. I am not.

Silently he sets a small parcel on the table beside me and is gone. In and out of the room; no words.

I reach for the parcel he has left me, squinting at it through bleary eyes. It appears to be wrapped in a cloth napkin. I wonder briefly if he stole it from a restaurant. It falls open in my quaking hands and a small object flutters onto the blanket.

No note. No tag. It speaks for itself.

A single long, brown feather. It could be any old feather, but I know. It is Eagle's. Nile brought it to let me know that I still have someone beside me - above me; I'm not alone.

I'm never alone.


	7. Family Only

Hey all! How are you?

This will most likely be the second-to-last segment of Act 1. It's about time to wrap it up and continue to Act 2. I'm excited! :3

* * *

~Yuu's POV~

It took me a long, long, long, long, long time to get here. I'm too little to look in the windows - I hate being too little - so I had to open every single door down the hall.

Let me back up. I'm in the hospital visiting Tsubasa. Basically they don't let anybody in here who isn't a relative - I tried to tell them he didn't have a relative anyway but they didn't listen - and so I sneaked back here. It's no big deal, really. I'm not planning to hurt anyone or break anything so I figure I can come back here.

I finally found his room by peeking through each door like I said - I nearly missed him too. Somebody pulled his hair back underneath him so I didn't recognise him. He looks so different now, like he's been sick or something - he wasn't like this when I met him. He's all pale and worn-out looking. I think he's asleep, and I'm not gonna risk poking him to find out. I need a rest myself after running down all those halls.

I climb into the chair beside him. I figure I've got a good hour or so before I need to leave. Gingka and the others are resting after Tsubasa's big battle; the WBBA says that there's gonna be a rematch between Gingka and Kyouya tomorrow because they're not playing favourites. I don't get why - I mean, they sponsor our team in the first place - but they're the bosses and we have to listen.

The point is that nobody was paying attention to me and the one person who does ever listen is in the hospital - so obviously the solution was to go there.

Tsubasa might look peaceful except that he's got sweat running down his scalp and his eyebrows are all crooked. I lean in for a closer look. I'm pretty worried about the poor guy. Ever since the battle with Ryuga he's seemed kinda off. I can't place it, exactly, but it's like he's fighting something.

He has a long brown feather in his hands. He's smoothing it in his fingers while he sleeps. I hope he's not having a nightmare; I hate nightmares.

I guess I leaned too far over, because I look up and find out I fell on the edge of the bed. For a minute I'm about to get off, but I guess Tsubasa won't mind. He has plenty of room, and he's asleep, anyway.

Maybe me being here will help him not have bad dreams. Him and his feather and me. I lie on my side on the end of the bed for a little and then maybe I'll close my eyes, just until he wakes up...

* * *

~Madoka's POV~

It takes a lot of finagling on our part, but finally we get somebody to let us into the hospital ward. Normally only family members are allowed to see the patients, but we may as well be family, I suppose.

Our visit here has two purposes: first and foremost, to visit Tsubasa. They said he should be awake by now. Second, Yuu went missing about 45 minutes ago. Gingka suspects he sneaked into the ward to see Tsubasa. The two of them are so close. I'm hoping that whatever is wrong with Tsubasa won't disrupt their friendship.

We open the door to room 208 and there he is, on the bed, his eyes shut. I hope he has had a good rest today. I look towards the window for a moment; if my calculations are correct, it's been about 4 hours since he was admitted. The sun is contemplating evening, hovering above the horizon in lazy uncertainty.

Then my eyes shift to the end of the bed. There is Yuu, curled on his side facing Tsubasa's feet. I smile. It's no surprise that he would come here. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't feel a bit left out, being the youngest on Gan Gan Galaxy. He's fast asleep; good. He needs his rest.

Tsubasa was asleep too. but now he opens his eyes, groans, and sits up. His hair is pulled into a messy tail behind his head, and he fumbles with the tie until his hair falls loose around his shoulders. He gives us a weak smile.

"Hi, guys."

"Hey." Gingka goes to stand beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess." I realise that he didn't really give us an answer. How much is to be expected? "Did I win?"

"Yes," Masamune tells him. "You seemed really...into it out there. It was intense."

"Yeah, I guess I got kind of caught up", he says.

Our voices wake Yuu, who sits up and starts talking immediately about his adventures sneaking into the hospital. Masamune and Gingka get caught up in conversation.

I am the only one who notices how strange Tsubasa is suddenly acting. He's staring at the window with a panicked, wild gaze. I look and see nothing there, only the buildings across the street. But I suppose he sees something that freaks him out because the next thing I know, he's crying out and hitting at the window with a chair. Gingka yells in alarm and grabs him, trying to calm him down.

I'm so scared. I don't know what's happening to him. What if he really hurts someone? Ends up in rehab? As far as I know, he's the best agent the WBBA has. He's our teammate, our best friend. I hate to see him like this - being rushed down a hall on a gurney. Gingka and Masamune race behind him and I take Yuu's hand.

Yuu is crying. This must be terrible for him. Tsubasa is his big brother, his best friend. When someone you love stops playing with a full deck, things are scary.

I squeeze his hand tight as we follow the orderlies. I'm here for Yuu. We all are.

And we're here for Tsubasa, too.


	8. Silent Mutiny

Well, my muse is going crazy a bit, so there may be a few more parts I can squeeze outta this act. Hang on, we're getting there :)

* * *

I can hear it. It's here again.

_NO_

"Don't be afraid. I have control. Just give in."dark

_This isn't what i wanted i tried to control it but_

You can't get rid of me

I

Am

You

_NOthereisnorefuge_

_I don't_

Just be still!

_You can't take me. I am light._

You are darkness. I am YOU.

_You were never me! You don't belong here._ How did he break out?

_You can't be me. I choose who I am._

There is destiny. That is me. I'm your destiny.

_Be quiet_

_Get out_

_Leave_fading

consciousness_slipping_

You can't tell me to get out. I'm a part of you.

_I don't believe that, I never believed that!_

Believe it. It's the truth.

_No_

You're getting weaker. Just surrender. There's no way you'll win without me!

_I've won before._

You got lucky.

_I'm fading_

_down_

_dark sea of silence_

laughter

You never could be strong on your own, could you?

so pathetic.

_I can't feel my body anymore_

_no_

he is waiting for me to end.

Finally I have control.

_And then the light fades, and i am nothing._

_This is what I always feared: it would lure me here, trap me where I trapped it before. I can't see that little light that signifies the gateway. I'm afraid if I move I'll get farther from it. _

_Blackness is pressing in on the edges of my mind. The pressure is my ears is too much. I can't hear anything but a rip-roaring tidal wave of silence. And then I give in._

_Maybe when I wake, things will be all right._


	9. Forest Battleground

Okay. 2-3 more parts to the end of the act. Let's do dis!

* * *

I come back to myself in a forest.

Why? I don't know; if I knew, maybe I would not be a hippopotamus.

I don't know where that came from. I am confused.

Wait, I'm not in a forest. That's just the window. What window?

Deep breath. I think I know where I am now.

I'm standing on dark carpet in front of a huge wall of windows, panes of glass set up in front of me. The windows extend in a light curve and end at dark walls.

The view outside is moving. It's almost like I'm in a spaceship, or...

I remember what happened. I went to confront the voice again and it took over. This must be the view it has from the back of my mind where it was before. It is conscious, but I am in control.

Until now, that is. Now our positions are switched.

The scenery outside slows and stops at a small clearing. I can see someone out there. Maybe, just somehow, he can help me. I press my face to the glass.

I recognise him almost immediately, and my heart sinks. Julian Konzern. Surely the last person in the world who would lend me help. After we crashed the Festival of the Warriors, I presume we earned a bad reputation among the European bladers.

Why has the voice opted to come here? Why is Konzern here?

Konzern glares now and pulls his bey launcher from his belt. So the voice wants a battle. But why?

Almost as soon as the battle begins, Konzern withdraws and relaunches. Normally this would be illegal. Is he switching to left rotation?

But before Konzern can launch, his little guards show up. Sophie and Wales, of course; the way they flank him constantly shows their loyalty towards their leader. Klaus, too, is with them.

It seems my dear Eagle is overpowered, and I am hopeful; if the voice loses the battle, I will have a chance to take control. But instead, even Eagle seems to turn to the darkness and sends both Cetuses flying into the trees.

This makes me angry. How dare the voice use Eagle for its own twisted purpose!? I know Eagle is not like this. It can't be doing this of its own accord. It, like me, is possessed.

I slam a fist against the glass in front of me, and it shakes with a dull thud. It gives me hope. I've broken windows before, and I can break them again. I slam into the pane with the side of my body, and for a moment I'm jolted into full consciousness, flickering into control before bouncing back to the dark. I can feel the alarm rising from the voice.

I pause between slams, gulping air, and see another beyblade enter the battle. A red halo floats around it. I run to the far side of the windows and see its owner.

I'm surprised, and somehow unsurprised. Ryuga has managed to find this little battle. How very like him.

I slam against the glass again and for a moment I can hear his voice - something about how L-Drago is the strongest left-rotator in the world. Of course he would be jealous of Konzern's little Destroyer.

With every jolt, the glass grows weaker, and I stay in my own body for longer. Two seconds, then three. I'm going for the break this time. There's a crack in the panel, and I think I can make it -

Then something grabs my wrists, jolting me backwards as I try to go forwards. No! I'm so close! I can't let myself be stopped now! Whoever has hold of me spins me the other way and throws me on the ground hard. I lose my breath for a moment and find myself staring up at the voice.

It's taken on its horrid rendition of me, red-eyed and crazy. _Stop. You're not escaping!_

I will escape! I have to.

If it is here, with me, it is distracted from outside. Split into two entities, it is weakened. I stand and go for the window again, and again it grabs me, holding me back. We are locked face to face.

I am tired of losing to him.

With a cry of exertion, I twist at the hips and throw him into the glass with my momentum. It shatters apart and with a gasp of air, I am back in control.

He fell into the darkness. I don't know where.

Wales's and Sophie's beyblades come whizzing back onto the scene, and L-Drago batters them mercilessly. I bring Eagle circling back to the edge of the unofficial stadium.

Ryuga's attention is turned to me now. "Calm yourself down, Tsubasa, and listen to me.

"What you possess is only a small fragment of the Dark Power. Don't deny it - I've seen it in you. Lucky for your little team, you possess the last fragment in existence.

"Listen to me!" As he speaks, Konzern rejoins the battle. I register it in the edges of my mind and move Eagle out of the way just in time. "The only way to overcome it is to become it! Find unity. If you can't beat them you have to join them."

Finished with me, he turns back to the battle and his eyes flash at the left rotation of Gravity Destroyer. Seeing my chance, I call Eagle to my palm and back into the shadows. I need to regroup and replenish.


	10. Finale: Shinedown

Ok. There have been a couple changes to The Plan. Act 2 will no longer follow Ryuga - _Myth_ will come Act 3 or later. Act 2: Postcards will follow...I'm not telling :) Anybody got guesses?

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

I don't want to talk.

She wants to talk, but I don't.

Madoka sits in front of me, with her big-sister-bear face on. I told her I don't want to talk. She will not listen.

I tell her I'm trying to get in the zone before I battle. She doesn't believe me. It is a lie anyway.

I don't want to talk because I can feel the voice stirring in the deepest recesses of my mind, trying to climb back up to consciousness. I don't want to let it. She is distracting me.

"You need to talk to somebody. It may as well be me."

Why does it have to be anyone?

"Ryo told us that you have the dark power inside of you. Talk to me. Please?"

I told her I don't want to talk.

She still will not listen.

She doesn't understand that I work through my problems by keeping them from bothering me. Not talking it out, like others do.

And she still won't listen.

I try being silent, giving her no words. No objections.

"So help me, I will send Yuu out to battle in your place until you tell me something. Just five minutes, Tsubasa."

I don't mind. If I don't battle with Team Konzern, I won't have to battle with myself until...later.

"Five minutes. Is that too much to ask? Talk to me for five minutes and I'll leave you alone!"

Five minutes is a lifetime.

"Hey. Snap out of it, will you!?" She pulls on my hair.

This does it for me. I hate, hate, HATE it when people do that. I stand and leave the room. I will not speak to her. She will not listen because I will have nothing to say. And I need to get out of here before I say something that I will regret.

I try to leave, but Yuu follows me. He leaves Madoka behind in the lobby.

"Tsubasa? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, little boy", I tell him. I do not look at him. I don't want him to see the struggle in my eyes.

"Is it true what Ryo said? About the dark power?"

Now I do stop, and turn to him. "Everyone has to battle with bad choices sometimes."

"But it wasn't bad choices. You fainted in the middle of a battle. I may be a little boy, Tsubasa, but I know stuff too! And that just isn't normal!"

His eyes are grave, quiet worry reflected in emerald facets. He is wise beyond his years.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over it now." This is the second lie I have told.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me." Don't trust me.

I turn and continue walking. I hear his sneakers squeaking on the floor behind me, and I turn again. "Go back to Madoka and watch Masamune's match."

"Why?"

"I just want to take a walk by myself, ok?" I turn again. I hope he goes this time. If he does not, I will outrun him.

"Wait!" He grabs my clip and pulls it out of my hair. Again, I hate this. I turn on him.

"STOP! Just go back. NOW!"

"Ts-Tsubasa -"

"GO." I grab my clip back from his hand and angrily snap my hair back into it. This is exactly why I left the lobby. I said something I regret. But I'm not turning back now.

Yuu hesitates for just a second and then is gone. Did he see something in me that he is afraid of? Why did I get so frustrated? I am never like this. I have always been patient, always.

A walk around the hallways in the lobby calms my mind; and then a voice comes over the loudspeaker, calling me to battle. I dread this. I don't want to do it. But Sophie and Wales have called for a tag-team; they are twins and cannot be separated. Yuu meets me at the edge of the stadium. He looks so worried.

I give him what I hope is an encouraging smile. "I'm sorry", I whisper.

He gives me a small, hesitant smile, but keeps his distance from me as we take our places.

I don't want to do it.

I have to.

* * *

~Yuu's POV~

Tsubasa isn't usually so snappy. It's kinda confusing. But maybe battling will change his mood. It always cheers him up when he battles with me. I know I'm that little ray of sunshine! I gotta be!

Sophie and Wales make a weird pair if you ask me. It's like they say the same things at the same time. Creepy. Their Cetuses circle the stadium, while mine and Tsubasa's beys take up centre.

They're not gonna beat us today, something tells me.

I watch Tsubasa while he battles, and he signals me to attack. We hit up against Sophie's and Wales's beys but they don't waver. Annoying! But at least not boring.

Tsubasa is getting frustrated and I'm getting scared. He bangs again and again against Wales's Cetus, and I know it's not like him to do something that illogical! Come on, Tsubasa. Get in the game.

Something snaps in his eyeballs. People say that doesn't really happen but I saw it, just now. His pupils are getting all dark again. Here we go.

He told me there's no dark power in him. Did he lie? Tsubasa never lies! Never. Does he?

He's starting to breathe hard. "Tsubasa?" I say. He does not hear me.

Suddenly Eagle zips around the stadium and hits the Cetus twins, and then it hits...ME!? Why would he attack me? "TSUBASA!?"

I'm scared now. He did lie, but he never lies - but he did -

"TSUBASA!" I'm yelling and didn't even realise it. I thought that only happened in books.

Eagle is hitting me and Sophie and Wales's beys really hard now. "Tsubasa, STOP!" Please?

"Please."

That does it! I'm not losing my best friend! That happened with Ryuga once and it's not happening again! "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Libra smacks into Eagle. Hurts me to do it, but if it works I gotta try it.

For a moment sanity flickers back in his gaze. I grab his hair and pull it again. "Tsubasa! Listen to me! You gotta snap out of it! I know you can do it!"

The Tsubasa I know will come back. He's got to. He always will, I know it.

"Tsubasa, you're an honest blader, I know you are! You're a good guy!"

Another flicker. He's getting something.

"Please. You're like a brother to me! And you're scaring me!" He is shaking now. Wales and Sophie are looking at each other like, What?

I grab his hand. PleasepleasepleasepleasePLEEEEASE!

"Tsubasa!" He's snapping out of it. The flickers are coming fast now. Wales and Sophie are gearing up for their big attack. "I need your help to do this! I can't beat 'em on my own!" Well, I probably could. Maybe.

Then light hits his face just the right way. I know he's coming back. When you and a friend are this close, you kinda just know these things.

* * *

~Tsubasa's POV~

I don't remember too much about beating the voice; I just know that if it's there I can't feel it. I'm happy again. I can smile. I busted 'em all with a 'killer new special move', as Masamune so poetically phrased it, and it brought the light back to me.

Yuu is exhausted. He is sleeping on the couch by me in the lobby, drooling on my arm. I don't mind. He helped me beat the dark power - once again, i don't remember how, but I get the feeling he did. When you are this close to someone, you sort of know things.

I look at my reflection in my phone. For the first time in forever, I can see my reflection without seeing the voice's twisted rendition of me. I walked past a dog outside and it did not bark at me.

But good grief, does my hair look terrible.


End file.
